User blog:TR/Heads of State of Spain (because I have work I'm trying to avoid)
This blog contains the heads of state of Spain (in its various forms) that appear as characters in the works of Harry Turtledove. They may or may not hold the office of head of state in a given Turtledove work. Throughout most of its history, Spain has been a monarchy. The foundation for the unification of the modern state of Spain began in the late 15th Century by the marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, and the subsequent reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, with the final victory being achieved in 1492. The final unification came with the ascension of Charles I in 1516, who ruled over what came to be seen as Spain's Golden Age. The Hapsburg line ended with Charles II in 1700, and the Bourbon dynasty began shortly after. That line continues to rule Spain as of this writing, although it has been interrupted on several occasions. The first interruption came in 1808, when Napoleon I of France placed his brother, Joseph, on the Spanish throne. Joseph ruled until 1813, when he was removed, and the Bourbons were restored. During the Spanish Revolution of 1868, Isabella II was deposed, and Amadeo I of the House of Savoy ascended in 1870. Three years later, Amadeo was deposed and a republic was declared. The head of state became the president. However, that republic (which was retroactively called the First Spanish Republic) only lasted 23 months. The Bourbons and the monarchy were restored in 1874. In 1930, the monarch, Alfonso XIII was forced to abdicate, and the Second Spanish Republic was created in 1931, with the head of state again being the president. However, this republic fell at the close of the Spanish Civil War, and the Spanish Nationalist faction under Francisco Franco took power. Franco officially restored the monarchy, but did not allow the available pretender, Infante Juan of Spain, Count of Barcelona (who would have been Juan III) to take the throne. Instead, Franco remained the repressive and dictatorial head of the Spanish state, referring to himself, among other things, as Caudillo. In 1969, he officially announced that Juan Carlos, the Count of Barcelona's son, would succeed Franco upon his death, believing that Juan Carlos would be less likely to undo the Falangist state than Infante Juan. Franco was wrong: when Franco died in 1975, Juan Carlos immediately took the throne and oversaw democratic reforms. The Spanish constitution was amended in 1978, and Spain became a constitutional monarchy. The powers of the head of state have varied depending on the type of government and point in history. At present the Spanish monarchy is largely a ceremonial office, like most European heads of state. =Monarchies= ''Ruled Britannia In 1588, under the rule of Philip II, Spain succeeding in conquering England. Philip expanded empire in Europe by placing his daughter, Isaballa, and her husband Albert on the English throne. However, in 1598, shortly after Philip's death, the English people rebelled. Philip's successor, his dissolute son Philip III, had no interest in recapturing his father's empire. Other Monarchs "Eyewear" is set in the reign of Carlos I of Spain. While the story appears to be set in OTL, given the nature of the work, which involves time travel and parallel universes, it may be set in an alternate timeline. Charles III is obliquely referenced in the "Nouveau Redon", a novella set in the Atlantis series. Alfonso XIII is overthrown in the late 1930s by the [[Spanish Nationalists|Spanish ''Nationalists]] in the Southern Victory volume American Empire: The Victorious Opposition. In The Two Georges, the monarchy of Spain joined with the monarchy of France under the Bourbons sometime in the 19th century, forming the Holy Alliance. The only monarch identified by name is [[François IV of France and Spain (The Two Georges)|François IV of France and Spain]], who reigns in the 1990s. In the home timeline of Crosstime Traffic, the reigning unnamed king of Spain is a figurehead. While neither Ferdinand II of Aragon nor Isabella I of Castile were the de jure ruler of a unified Spain, their union laid the foundation for unification of Spain by Carlos I. In the short work "Report of the Special Committee on the Quality of Life", the rule over a nascent Spain with a fully developed (and stifling) bureaucracy. In Through Darkest Europe, Spain never unified. In the 21st century, the incumbent king of Aragon and queen of Castile attend the funeral of Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Italy. =Republics and Other Governments= In The War That Came Early, the Spanish Repubic emerges triumphant from the Spanish Civil War, and Manuel Azaña remains the President of Spain at the series' end, 1944. However, in most Turtledove works, the Nationalists still win as they did in OTL, and Francisco Franco is the Head of State, typically using the title Caudillo. This includes "Cayos in the Stream", The Man With the Iron Heart, and The Hot War trilogy. Franco is not named in the novel In the Presence of Mines Enemies, but he implicitly reigned there; the incumbent head of state of Spain in 2010 is identified only by the title of Caudillo. Category:Blog posts